Marketing Caribbean or Island Airbnbs

[Danielle681]

Hello Hosts, co-hosts and Hosting team members,

I hope you are doing well and doing all you can to stay afloat in these times - grateful for staycations in your respective countries. Are there any hosts from the Caribbean or small islands? Would love your feedback.

We tend to see in ads via social media, that the Caribbean Airbnbs are hardly or never highlighted. Whilst we make up a small part of the world we do welcome a lot of people from across the globe: China, Estonia, Canada, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, Germany, Nigeria and the list goes on. We not only pump money back into economies but we build relationships. We always aim to stay in touch with our guests ever post check out! Some have become like family welcoming us to their respective homes

How can the Caribbean be heard?

What are you doing to market your Airbnb?

How severely have you been hit and what are you doing during these times?

Looking forward to positive feedback.

Cheers!

[Debra300 · Accepted solution]

@Danielle681

Hi, there certainly are hosts from the Caribbean who participate in this community.  Personally, I have learned a great deal from fellow hosts and guests, and know that the shared experiences and information helps us all.  At this time, the St. Lucian government isn't permitting Airbnb accommodations such as guesthouses and apartments to host visitors who have not resided in the Caribbean Travel Bubble for at least 21 days or must have completed the mandatory 14 day quarantine before check-in.  We've made significant renovations to our guest suites to make them self-contained studios in preparation to re-opening, and hope to start accepting guest next month as more guests come down for the winter.  Unfortunately, we do not have a remote worker's visa program like Barbados and Antigua.

I saw another host from Barbados on another thread, and am tagging @James2566.

[Danielle681]

Hi Debra,

Wonderful to hear from you. Yes we all learn a lot on various platforms (guests definitely) with this Airbnb community specifically, so I am glad to hear from fellow Caribbean hosts.

Yes we've been following updates on our neighboring islands. Better safe than sorry. Wonderful to hear of our renovations. I looked at your studios and they are beautiful. Great job on 5 star reviews. I can tell you and your team put alot of work into the love and care of them.

I've been to St. Lucia many times but never stayed in an Airbnb for various reasons - now you've changed my mind! Best wishes to and you team on your future endeavors and thank you for sharing!

[Debra300]

Hi @Danielle681,

Thanks for your nice comments.  I remember seeing your spaces a couple of months ago when you posted about receiving a bad review from a guest that booked two stays, and thinking at the time it was a shame that such a nice space had disrespectful guests.  Keep up the good work, and in short order that one review will be obviated by all of the great reviews I am sure you will receive.

I wish there were more PMs  like Mia Mottley, another example of a great leader.  She encourages her cabinet and the general public to think outside of the box for solutions, and is on the forefront to making Barbados a place to be reckoned.  We have family in St. Michaels, but the last time I was in BB was to renew my US passport in 2016.  Maybe when public health is more stable, and before Liat folds again, we'll pop over to see our folks.  I'll give you a ping.

[Danielle681]

Yes and since then we have had guests - all having 5 star experiences. We always try our best to bring our A game given the market is full of competition. We focus on building our brand and listening to our guests' feedback.

The general public is truly doing the best we can. There is always family around in Barbados (especially in one of the most populated parishes) haha! Great to know. It would be indeed a pleasure to meet up. You know how to find us. Check out Barbados Trip Advisor on Facebook. Plenty updates there and expats too. Stay safe and best wishes to you, your family and blessings on your business. As we say in Bajan dialect 'See ya lata hear?! Ah gone!' (We shall meet again and do take care)

[James2566]

We're hosting in Barbados and currently, guests have to quarantine at a hotel facility unless they can afford to hire a personal security guard to sit outside their front door during the quarantine period. What is interesting is that guests assume a budget airbnb accommodation will offer not only that, but also the follow-up COVID testing. But, I spend most of my days funneling through these questions and pointing guests towards the appropriate websites to help them make "the most informed decision". Lately, I also ask them to speak with travel insurance providers and if they're not covered (and I no longer offer refunds), it may not be the best time to go on holiday. To me that seems a no-brainer, after all, I'm not booking trips anywhere right now either. 

Despite providing all the information, guests still feel entitled to a "full refund" if anything interrupts their travel plans, and they will dispute my policy to the death, which has been very unpleasant. Despite giving them all information and links to travel insurance, and confirming they've read and agree to the policy, there's a climate of entitlement and I can't continue to rent out our two homes "on a hope". It's been a challenge and I'm developing a thicker skin when I've given guests all the information they need and they still book. 

Guests don't seem to differentiate us from hotels with a hundred rooms and a board of directors and financial back-up. So, I often have to implore guests to make the right decision because if I'm blocking off that period of dates, in my small home, for them for months, the cancellation policy definitely stands, despite any COVID-related transportation disruptions. Despite also explaining that by blocking off that one week, or more, for them, I'm declining long-term bookings from locals and expats, since we have a visa. So we must encourage them to reserve with more than two fingers crossed. 

Lately, I suggest they book very last-minute, if our space is still available. Otherwise, our policy stands and the loss is shared equally, or within 7 days, completely on their part. 

[Danielle681]

Hi James,

It's great to hear from someone hosting right here in Barbados. I totally understand because we have been doing the same reading up on the varying protocols to share the sites with the guests, keeping them updated as such. Our villas are now quarantined approved - many processes to go through this though - it was worth it because it has refueled 90% of our new bookings.

We tried to find the best testing options free and paid and informed guests in the early. We also updated our site with this information as some guests fail to read and information and are quick to jump that it wasn't on the site.

I can sense how frustrating it must have been -  answering many questions despite feeding the the same answers numerous times. I totally agree. Guests class Airbnbs, vacation rentals, villas and so forth on the same level as a hotel and I believe part of that stems from Airbnb adding hotels and such on the platform which truly defeats the reason why Airbnb started in the first place - Air bed and breakfast in someone else's home to someone's entire home or apartment. No matter how much marketing you personally conduct for your Airbnb, someone some persons still expect the same standard as a 5 star hotel. We can only give our best with the product and services we provide out of our pockets.

I wish you continued success and I hope that things pick up for us all. Thank you for sharing James. Feel free to stay in touch and spread the word to other Caribbean hosts. Would love to hear more stories. Cheers!